A candidate from totally off the radar.
The Jets have cast a wide net in their search for a new head coach. The net got a bit wider Friday as the team interviewed Mike Locksley, the head coach at the University of Maryland.
We have completed an interview with Mike Locksley for our Head Coach position.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 10, 2025
No matter how this search ends, nobody could ever accuse the Jets of failing to turn over every stone searching for the right candidate.
Locksley is a very surprising candidate. He did interview with the Miami Dolphins three years ago for their head coaching opening, but there are few other suggestions he has generated much NFL buzz.
Maryland is coming off a 4-8 season, and Locksley’s six year tenure has produced a 32-36 record. How much that matters is unclear. College record isn’t always indicative of how a coach will do in the NFL. They are very different games, and some coaches are just better cut out to run a pro program. Locksley, however, has spent his entire coaching career in college. A move to the NFL would likely be a dramatic change for him.
Could Locksley be the right man for the job? I wouldn’t immediately dismiss him. Sometimes successful coaches have unconventional resumes, but I would presume he would need to knock his interview out of the park to merit anything more than passing consideration.